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John Jacobi

Te Luddite Method
12 Sept. 2014
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Contents
Our goals and beliefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
What we know for sure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
A general plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Tactics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Targets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Te Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
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Our goals and beliefs
We believe that wild nature is something to be revered and respected. Because
we believe life under wild nature is the freest and most dignied way of life, we
believe all of the ecosphere should be wild, or at least have a choice to be. However,
since the Industrial Revolution, a technological way of life has made great strides
in destroying our ability to live wildly. Te industrial system disrespects and
domesticates all of nature, from humans to animals to the earth, and even the
parts it has not physically touched are aected by the global problems it is creating
problems that the technocratic elite behind it all are atempting to x with
more technology. Tis system has become so great that it threatens to destroy
wild nature and replace the ecosphere with a life created completely from a lab.
Because of the nature of this system, nothing will be able to opt out.
Terefore, luddites goal is to end the industrial system.
What we know for sure
We know that the industrial system will be going through turbulent times in
the coming decades. It has created a number of ticking time-bombs for itself,
from climate change to invasive species. Within the next couple of decades, the
industrial system will begin to feel their eects. Because the industrial system is
only 200 years old, it hasnt yet worked out all of its problems (if it ever can), so
even if it is eventually able to handle the disasters, it will have a lot of trouble at
rst. Furthermore, the industrial system is inherently fragile compared to Mother
Nature, who has caused cascading blackouts by rubbing a few tree branches on
power lines. Historically, the more complex and sophisticated a civilization is,
the more fragile it becomes. Te only thing that might save the industrial system
from this historical trend is its unprecedented ability to dominate nature.
We know that anti-technology backlash is inevitable. At the very least people
will respond loudly to problems technology has caused, even if they dont view
technology as the problem. For example, when automation becomes the norm
in highly industrialized countries, large portions of the work force will become
unemployed. Tis will be a huge weakness for the industrial system, since people
have an inherent need to achieve concrete goals autonomously, and the industrial
system relies on work to articially satisfy this need. Furthermore, the entertain-
ment and propaganda industries have not quite become sophisticated enough to
deal with such a high unemployment rate. When such a large amount of peo-
ple become suddenly unemployed, they are likely to lash out in ways powerful
enough to cause instability.
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However, it is also likely that some people will atack technology directly.
Technology is already the primary controlling force in our lives: automated
systems run the stock market, algorithms are highly inuential forces in deciding
Google search results or Netix recommendations, and sophisticated policing and
surveillance techniques keep people from threatening the system without them
even knowing it. However, more people are going to realize howmuch technology
inuences their lives as they begin to interact with its articial products on
an everyday basis. Consider, for example, how widespread the anti-Facebook
sentiment is, or how easily people can atack a company like Google. Before this
point in history, technology wasnt even a cultural topic for discussion. Now it is
one of the most common.
Some of these atacks will likely be violent. Anti-techno-logy terror groups
have already sprung up all over Europe and South America, and the FBI consid-
ers ecoterrorism to be its number one domestic terrorism threat. Many defense
experts also predict that anti-technology terrorism is the most likely future ter-
roristic threat.
But historically the vehicle for revolutionary change in modern times has been
the mass movement. Revolutions are the result of many things, frominsurrections
to rebellions to terrorism. However, insurrections alone do not cause a social
revolution, as demonstrated by the recent tumult in Greece and Arab nations in
the past few years. Tese three things are merely indicators that the time is ripe
for a mass movement. Recognizing that the collapse of the industrial system will
not come about except by inevitable collapse or a mass movement tells us a few
other things we know for sure.
First, we know that historically, mass movements result from both the work of
a dedicated minority and from events outside that minoritys control. For example,
the Russian Revolution would never have happened without both the Bolsheviks
and the eects of World War I. However, we also know that mass movements
cannot be sustained without the dedicated minority, even if the events outside
of the minoritys control happen anyway. Dedicated minorities are important
to mass movements because large groups of people are inherently volatile, so
their activity comes and goes in rigor and combativeness. Te dedicated minority
provides stability between the active phases.
Second, the dedicated minority, because of its stable presence, is able to win
ideological dominance, which will direct peoples energies to work against the in-
dustrial systemconsistently. Ideology is paramount to the eort of revolutionaries
because ideology motivates people, provides moral justications for revolutionary
action, and clearly delineates a good and bad side in revolutionary conict.
Tird, we know that near the end of revolutions, moderates are usually the rst
to take power. Tis happened for the French, Russian, and American Revolutions.
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However, in most cases, moderates were unable to hold power because the insta-
bility of the conditions under which they took it delegitimized them quickly, or
because the revolutionaries successfully delegitimized the moderates themselves.
Most of the time revolutionaries take power directly from moderates, not the
elite.
We knowthat the industrial systemis a global system, and therefore its collapse
must be global. Tis probably means that luddites will have to be dispersed
geographically. It does not, however, mean that they need to be in all parts of the
world. Luddites need only to be in parts of the world where the industrial system
is most vulnerable.
Lastly, we know for sure that the lef is a threat to the luddites. Previous anti-
technological eorts like Earth First! show how lefists swarm where there is any
mass movement, and consequently they destroy the movements integrity and
focus by loading it with issues important to various lefist groups. Furthermore,
the lefs critique would only accept anti-technological critiques as one among
many, which means any anti-technology movement would be subsumed by the
lef, not helped by it. For example, ecological critiques of green anarchists in
South America have been accepted by insurrectionary anarchists in the area, but
as a result, green anarchists only become insurrectionary anarchists, not the other
way around. Te lef is able to do this partly because most of its factions are old
and well-established, and they have a lot more institutional support than new
movements would have. Related to the oldness of lefist movements is the oldness
of lefist leaders. Many of these leaders have lost a genuine hope in revolution,
and they have accepted less radical ends while keeping their old rhetoric. Anyone
who has studied revolutionary eorts knows that revolutions are not started by
the old and disillusioned activist, but by the naive and young.
A general plan
Structure
Luddites should operate as a group of autonomous collectives organized around
core values and in contact with each other. Groups have to be autonomous
because: sophisticated policing and surveillance methods would easily destroy
traditional organizations; the industrial system is global and must be fought
globally; and traditional structures are too slow for any contemporary movement.
However, a looser structure may mean some groups have weaker condence
in the luddite values of wildness, dignity, and freedom. Tis can be countered
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in two ways. First, groups that are geographically close should regularly meet
up and share stories, tactics, and beer. Tis will function to enforce the general
feeling of camaraderie among collectives, and it will reinforce the core values
in groups that are new or ideologically weaker. Second, each geographical area
should have one or two main collectives who manage the areas newspaper. Te
newspaper should be a consistent source of news for various collectives, and it
should reinforce core luddite values.
Collectives structure should be similar in that there should be one or two
people (or more, depending on the size of the collective) who run the local pro-
paganda eort, whether that is a website, a podcast, a newspaper, or something
else. Tese people should be some of the most focused and dedicated of luddites.
Like ideology is the way to maintain unity among collectives, friendship should
maintain unity among collective members. Members of a collective should know
each other well and, if they cannot be friends, they should at least be able to get
along in a healthy manner. Relational unity is both strategically and ideologically
sound. Ideologically, it makes sense that luddites organize themselves in a very
human, non-mechanistic way. Strategically, relational unity eectively combats
eorts of governments and rival organizations to stir up trouble within the col-
lective. It is very dicult for an inltrator to be eective if collective members
expect to meet his family or visit his home.
Timeline
From the perspective of a collective, a luddite revolution is likely to go some-
thing like this:
1. One or two individuals begin a luddite collective in their area. Tey recruit
highly dedicated people who believe in the sacredness of wild nature and the
abhorrence of the technological system, and they begin working on unifying pro-
paganda projects like puppet shows, podcasts, blogs, newspapers, or something
else. During this period individuals grow increasingly atached to the collective
community and beliefs.
2. At some point the collective has enough members to begin organizing in its
area. Tey stress certain pressure points in their area and start organizing people
around specic issues that will benet the overall goal of ending the industrial
system. For example, if the luddite collective was near a university well-known
for its innovations in biotechnology, the luddite collective would want to instigate
conict between students and the biologists or just increase anti-biotech sentiment
in general.
3. Perhaps a member of the collective moves to another area and starts another
luddite group there. Eventually a few luddite groups form in general geographical
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proximity, and members from all of the collectives coordinate an annual meet-up.
At this meetup, luddites decide on which collective is most t to run their main
newspaper. Tey also update each other on their progress and celebrate.
4. 1, 2, and 3 repeat. From this point on we can only guess in a very general
way what will happen. It is likely that once luddites become recognized in the
popular consciousness, their characters and tactics will change tremendously. As
groups become more rooted in their communities, they will be able to organize
more combative actions.
5. Some disaster destabilizes the industrial system. At this point luddites will
hopefully have gained enough social power to act accordingly and in a coordinated
manner. A revolutionary time period begins.
6. Te luddites suer wins and losses, and eventually a moderate group gains
power. Luddites begin eorts to delegitimize the moderates, and, when they are
successful, they nalize their revolution against the industrial system.
7. Luddite collectives will likely be involved in community building afer the
industrial systems collapse. Given that the circumstances afer collapse will be
unknown, not much can be said about this.
Tactics
Because luddisms ideology is incredibly simple, luddites have a wide range
of options in the area of tactics and maneuver. Te range is so wide, in fact, that
it would be impossible to list them all here. Instead, the following is a list of
categories of tactics, as well as suggested reading for a more in-depth analysis of
each.
Internal tactics
Luddites can and will normalize a numer of practices that enable the group to
last. For example, in the outline above luddite groups used propaganda projects
in order to maintain unity and active membership. Similarly, relational unity
as a tactic builds stronger bonds between individuals and inhibits moles and
inltrators.
Te Bolsheviks employed a number of internal tactics, and business literature
ofen includes a lot of information about similar topics.
Te Organizational Weapon by Philip Selznick
What is to be Done? by Vladimir Lenin
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Networking and organizational tactics
Luddite collectives are not going to build power with numbers or guns. Teir
power and their revolution is going to be social. Tis means they will have to
master the art of networking, inuence, and storytelling.
Te Advent of Netwar and Swarming and the Future of Conict by Arquila and
Ronfeldt
Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky
Community Organizing by Speer and Hughey
How to Win Friends and Inuence People by Dale Carnegie
Combative tactics
In some cases luddites might want to engage in legal combative tactics or civil
disobedience. Luddites hoping to learn more about these sorts of tactics should
read about the history of Earth First!, the tactics unions used in the streets during
the labor movement, and current protest tactics like the black bloc.
Ecodefense by Dave Foreman
Hit Where It Hurts by Ted Kacznyski
Targets
Revolutionaries must choose targets well, industries that the system cant com-
promise on. Older industries like the electric power industry or the telecommuni-
cations industry may be industries where the system is weakest infrastructurally,
and the system surely cant back down in those areas, but newer technologies like
biotech, nanotech, and articial intelligence are industries where the system is
the weakest socially. Many people are highly suspicious of those three industries,
which is an advantage for luddites.
Below are a list of potential target industries for revolutionaries:
Biotechnology
Nanotechnology
Computer industry (sofware development, metal mining, etc.)
Electric power industry
Energy industry (fracking, nuclear, green energy, etc.)
Articial intelligence and robotics
Entertainment and propaganda industry (gaming, TV, social networks, etc.)
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Communications (especially satelite technologies)
Financial industry (banking, stock trading, etc.)
Te Future
Luddites must not wait for the answer to every question before they begin
their work. Te technology problem is an urgent one, and collectives are going to
end up making mistakes anyway. Early Earth First! had it right when they said
they would let their actions set the ner points of their philosophy.
Luddites must also constantly ask themselves how their current projects con-
tribute to the overall goal of ending the industrial system. Any projects that do
not lead to that goal should be dropped.
Lastly, luddites must not try to control what circumstances afer collapse will
be. It would be impossible to do so. Uncertainty is an intrinsic part of any
revolutionary eort, and that is ultimately a strength for the luddites, who can
ll that uncertainty with hope for a certain future.
Te Anarchist Library
Anti-Copyright
September 13, 2014
John Jacobi
Te Luddite Method
12 Sept. 2014
Text created by Freedom Club at UNC-CH. For feedback or questions, email uncfc@riseup.net.
htp://johnfacobi.github.io/articles/2014/09/12/the-luddite-method/

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